Curved sliding door assembly

ABSTRACT

A curved sliding door assembly for a rail passenger car wherein upwardly projecting pivot blocks carry pivot pins for engagement with a ball bearing supported hanger bar, the assembly permitting free pivotal movement about a horizontal axis of the curved door so as to prevent binding during horizontal sliding movement.

United States Patent [1 1 McKenzie June 26, 1973 CURVED SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY [75 Inventor: Robert K. McKenzie, Lake Forest,

[73] Assignee: Morton Manufacturing Company, Libertyville, Ill.

22 Filed: June 30,1972

21 Appl. No.: 267,962

[52] US. Cl 49/409, 16/87, 49/410 [51] Int. Cl E05d 13/02 [58] Field of Search 49/409, 425, 404,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1960 Seaburg ..49/409 5/1963 Roselius ..49/409 3.110.935 11/1963 Riegelman 49/411 3,318,048 5/1967 Odend'hal... 49/223 3,407,536 10/1968 Nystrom 49/482 3,466,698 9/1969 Nystrom 16/87 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 177,197 8/1935 Switzerland 49/409 Primary ExaminerDennis L. Taylor Attorney-Dawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungrnus [57] ABSTRACT A curved sliding door assembly for a rail passenger car wherein upwardly projecting pivot blocks carry pivot pins for engagement with a ball bearing supported hanger bar, the assembly permitting free pivotal movement about a horizontal axis of the curved door so as to prevent binding during horizontal sliding movement.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures CURVED SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION The instant invention is an improvement on U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,407,536 and 3,466,698.

Heretofore, ball bearing supported hanger bars have been employed extensively in connection with flat sliding doors for rail passenger cars such as subway cars, elevateds, etc. In recent years designers of such cars have felt it desirable to go to curved, i.e., contour, doors. This has resulted in a problem of satisfactory mounting because the center of gravity of the curved door is no longer directly below the sliding support. This is resulted in binding of the doors during the required horizontal sliding movement to open and close the same. When it is considered that these doors are used in mass rapid transit systems, it will be appreciated that their reliable performance is mandatory. Large numbers of people pass in and out of the doors daily and their reliably functioning is a key to the success of such systems.

Although ball bearing supported hanger bars of the type with which the instant invention is concerned were previously known, the workers in this art discarded the same when curved doors were used. Instead, the art workers turned to circular raceways with a plurality of ball bearings about the circular inner periphery of the raceways to achieve the desired sliding, pivoting action. These have not performed satisfactorily.

According to the present invention, a modified, improved hanger bar is employed in conjunction with pivot blocks projecting upwardly from the door to separate the pivoting function from the sliding function. However, the pivot blocks and hanger bar are so related as to effectively preclude any undesirable horizontal movement other than that incident to open and closing the door.

Other objects and advantages of this invention may DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention is described in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a curved door, in fragmentary form, and which features the teachings of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the upper portion of the door and showing the hanger assembly;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the door of FIG. 1 and showing in fragmentary form the hanger assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the hanger bar also seen in the preceeding views;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the door pivot block; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view such as would be seen along the sight line 6-6 applied to FIG. 3.

In the illustration given and with reference first to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 designates generally the frame of a rapid transit vehicle, such as a subway car. Mounted for horizontal sliding movement within the frame 10 is a curved door generally designated 11 and which is equipped with the usual window 12. The frame 10 at the lower edge of the door is equipped with a track 13 for guiding the lower edge of the door. The door 11 is supported for sliding movement relative to the frame 10 by means of a hanger assembly generally designated 14.

The hanger assembly 14 is seen in enlarged scale in FIG. 2. At its extreme upper end, the hanger assembly 14 includes a bracket 15 which is secured by suitable bolts and studs 16 to the frame 10. Mounted within the bracket 15 and constituting, in effect, an integral part thereof is a downwardly facing channel 17. The channel 17 is horizontally elongated and is equipped with raceway portions 18 and 19 which serve to partially confine and support ball bearings 20 and 21 respectively.

Positioned within the channel 17 and between the ball bearings 20 and 21 is a hangar bar generally designated 22 and which also can be seen in end elevation in FIG. 4. Along its vertical side, the hanger bar 22 is equipped with grooves or raceway defining portions 23 and 24 (designated only in FIG. 4). Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the raceway portions 23 and 24 cooperate with the raceway portions 18 and 19 to confine the ball bearing 20 and 21. Thus, the hanger bar 22 is slidably supported for horizontal movement upon the ball bearings 20 and 21. A plurality of ball bearings are provided at each of the raceways (defined respectively by the portions 18 and 23, and Hand 24, respectively). A closure member 25 (see FIG. 2) is provided at the ends of the raceways to confine the ball bearings 20 and 21 against inadvertent displacement.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 where the hanger bar 22 is again shown and designated. Each end of the hanger bar is equipped with a horizontally extending bore as at 26 and 27. Mounted within the bore 26 and 27 are pivot pins 28 and 29 respectively. The pivot pins 28and 29 also extend within bores 30 and 31 of pivot blocks 32 and 33 respectively. This provides for the above mentioned pivotal movement of the door 11 relative to the frame 10.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the door 11 is equipped along its upper edge with an upwardly facing channel 34. Mounted within the channel 34 are the pivot blocks 32 and 33, the pivot block 32 only being designated in FIG. 5. It will be seen that the pivot block is suitably secured within the channel 34 and to the door 11 by means of a rivet 35. The pivot pin bore 30 also can be seen in FIG. 5. As can be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 2, a portion of the pivot block 30 projects upwardly above the channel 34 and hence the door 11.

The pivot pin 29 is journaled both within the bore 31 of the pivot block 33 (see FIG. 3) and within the bore 27 of the hanger bar 22. In similar fashion, the end of the pivot pin 28 is journaled within the bore 26 at the other end of the hanger bar 22. However, the remaining portion of the pivot pin 28 is equipped with threads. A portlon of these threads mate with cooperating threads provided within the bore 30 of the piVot block 32. Thus, the pivot pin 30 can be retracted so as to permit horizontal shifting of the door 11 and permit the pivot pin 29 to be disengaged from the hangar bar bore 27. Thus, the door can be readily demounted from the hanger bar 22. The end 28a of the threaded portion of the pivot pin 28 (see the upper right hand portion of FIG. 3) serves as a stop of limit as does the confronting face of the left hand pivot block 33 for the hanger bar 22. Thus the hangar bar 22, when installed as shown in FIG. 3, is effectively stabilized against inadvertent horizontal shifting except that which is incident to movement of the door as a whole.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the lower longitudinal edges of the hanger bar 22 are chamfered as at 36 and 37. In like fashion, the upper longitudlnal edge portion of the pivot blocks 32 and 33 are chamfered as at 38 and 39 (see FIG. 5). As can be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 2, the chamfering as at 36-39 permits the door 11 to be pivoted to the left or right (as shown) without any binding of the various parts. For example, the chamfering as at 38 and 39 permits the desired pivoting about a horizontal axis (as defined by the aligned pivot'pins 28 and 29) without the pivot blocks 32 and 33 engaging the lower portions of the channel 18 or the retainer 25. In like fashion, the chamfering provided at 36 and 36 on the hanger bar 22 again permits pivoting of the door 11 without engagement of the upper portions of the channel 34 with the hanger bar 22.

Also included within the inventive door assembly is a unique finger guard, the arrangement of which can be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 6. The door 11 is seen to be equipped with a sidewardly facing channel as at 40. The interior sides of the channel 40 are equipped with a plurality of vertically extending spaced apart serrations 41. The finger guard generally designated 42 is seen to include the usual projecting portions 43 which can yield through the cooperation of the hollow interior 44 and the resilient construction of the guard 42. The guard 42 is removably attached to the door 11 by virtue of the portion of the guard 42 positioned within the channel 40. It will be seen that this portion 45 is also equipped with a plurality of vertically extending spaced apart teeth as at 46. However, each of the teeth 46 is substantially larger and the spacing therebetween is substantially greater than that characteristic of the teeth 41. Further, the teeth 46 are angled sidewardly, i.e., to the right in FIG. 6, which facilitates installation of the guard 42 but prevents inadvertent removal thereof. It is not uncommon for vandals to grasp a finger guard and attempt to remove it from its mounting. This is resisted by the angled teeth 46. However, the inclination of the teeth 46 facilitate installation in the event a previously installed finger guard is mutilated or otherwise rendered inoperative. The construction of the finger guard shown does permit ready removal by an authorized repairman inasmuch as the inclined teeth 46 can be moved against the grain at either the upper or lower end of the finger guard 42.

I claim:

1. A curved sliding door assembly for a rail passenger car comprising a car frame,

a vertically elongated generally rectangular door having a longitudinal curvature mounted in said frame for horizontal sliding movement,

said door along its upper edge being equipped with a pair of horizontally aligned pivot blocks adjacent the vertical edges of said door, said pivot blocks projecting upwardly beyond said door upper edge, each pivot block being equipped with a horizontal bore, a pivot pin mounted in each pivot block bore and projecting horizontally outwardly of said pivot block,

a hanger mounted on said frame above said door and equipped with a pair of horizontally opposed raceway portions for ball bearings, a horizontally elongated hanger bar positioned in said hangar and equipped with longitudinally extending raceway portions on opposite vertical sides thereof arranged to cooperate with the hanger raceway portions in defining a pair of raceways, a plurality of ball bearings in said raceways for supporting said hanger bar for horizontal movement relative to said hanger,

said hanger bar extending substantially between said pivot blocks and at each end being equipped with a bore for the receipt of a projecting part of the pivot pin of each pivot block whereby said pivot blocks are adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by said pivot pins,

one of said block bores extending horizontally through the block whereby the pivot pin in said one bore is axially movable to disengage said door from said hanger.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said pivot pin in said one bore is equipped with threads over a portion of its length and said one bore is equipped with mating threads whereby said pivot pin is adapted to be retracted for door removal, the end of said threaded portion serving as a stop for said hanger bar at one end thereof and the other pivot block serving as a stop at the other hanger bar end to substantially restrict horizontal movement of said door relative to said hanger bar.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said door is equipped with an upwardly facing generally U-shaped channel along its upper edge, said pivot blocks projecting upwardly above said channel, said hanger being a downwardly facing channel member with said hanger bar projecting downwardly below said hanger channel member, the bottom longitudinal edges of said hanger bar being chamfered to permit said door channel to clear said hanger bar upon door pivoting about said horizontal axis, the upper longitudinal edges of said pivot blocks being chamfered to permit said pivot blocks to clear said hanger channel member upon door pivoting about said horizontal axis.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which one of said door vertical edges is equipped with a sidewardly facing channel, a plurality of vertically extending spaced apart teeth on the interior sides of said sidewardly facing channel, a vertically elongated resilient finger guard removably mounted in said sidewardly facing channel and projecting sidewardly there beyond, said guard including a plurality of integral vertically extending spaced apart teeth of substantially larger spacing and size than said channel teeth whereby only some of the spaces between channel teeth are engaged by said guard teeth, each of said guard teeth being sidewardly angled to facilitate insertion into said sidewardly facing channel but resistive to removal therefrom. 

1. A curved sliding door assembly for a rail passenger car comprising a car frame, a vertically elongated generally rectangular door having a longitudinal curvature mounted in said frame for horizontal sliding movement, said door along its upper edge being equipped with a pair of horizontally aligned pivot blocks adjacent the vertical edges of said door, said pivot blocks projecting upwardly beyond said door upper edge, each pivot block being equipped with a horizontal bore, a pivot pin mounted in each pivot block bore and projecting horizontally outwardly of said pivot block, a hanger mounted on said frame above said door and equipped with a pair of horizontally opposed raceway portions for ball bearings, a horizontally elongated hanger bar positioned in said hangar and equipped with longitudinally extending raceway portions on opposite vertical sides thereof arranged to cooperate with the hanger raceway portions in defining a pair of raceways, a plurality of ball bearings in said raceways for supporting said hanger bar for horizontal movement relative to said hanger, said hanger bar extending substantially between said pivot blocks and at each end being equipped with a bore for the receipt of a projecting part of the pivot pin of each pivot block whereby said pivot blocks are adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis defined by said pivot pins, one of said block bores extending horizontally through the block whereby the pivot pin in said one bore is axially movable to disengage said door from said hanger.
 2. The structure of claim 1 in which said pivot pin in said one bore is equipped with threads over a portion of its length and said one bore is equipped with mating threads whereby said pivot pin is adapted to bE retracted for door removal, the end of said threaded portion serving as a stop for said hanger bar at one end thereof and the other pivot block serving as a stop at the other hanger bar end to substantially restrict horizontal movement of said door relative to said hanger bar.
 3. The structure of claim 1 in which said door is equipped with an upwardly facing generally U-shaped channel along its upper edge, said pivot blocks projecting upwardly above said channel, said hanger being a downwardly facing channel member with said hanger bar projecting downwardly below said hanger channel member, the bottom longitudinal edges of said hanger bar being chamfered to permit said door channel to clear said hanger bar upon door pivoting about said horizontal axis, the upper longitudinal edges of said pivot blocks being chamfered to permit said pivot blocks to clear said hanger channel member upon door pivoting about said horizontal axis.
 4. The structure of claim 1 in which one of said door vertical edges is equipped with a sidewardly facing channel, a plurality of vertically extending spaced apart teeth on the interior sides of said sidewardly facing channel, a vertically elongated resilient finger guard removably mounted in said sidewardly facing channel and projecting sidewardly there beyond, said guard including a plurality of integral vertically extending spaced apart teeth of substantially larger spacing and size than said channel teeth whereby only some of the spaces between channel teeth are engaged by said guard teeth, each of said guard teeth being sidewardly angled to facilitate insertion into said sidewardly facing channel but resistive to removal therefrom. 